Treasure Island
Treasure Island, or the Mutiny on the Hispaniola, or just Treasure Island, is a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1883. The novel tells the adventures of Jim Hawkins, a cabin boy who uncovers a secret map leading to the treasure of Captain Flint. Onboard the ship, chaos and mutiny erupts, and nobody can be trusted. It is regarded as one of the best pirate adventure stories of all time. Plot The story opens in January 1761, at the Admiral Benbow Inn, a grog shop on the North Devonshire Coast of England. Jim Hawkins, an owner of the Inn, yearns for adventure out on the high seas. Just then, a sailor named Billy Bones arrives at the inn. Bones promises to grant Jim a silver fourpenny every month, as long as he keeps a lookout for "a seafaring man with one leg". One night, a blind man named Pew arrives at the inn, asking where he is. When Jim answers, Pew demands to be taken to "the man with the sea chest", but Jim does not understand. Pew threatens Jim, but before he can finish, Bones arrives. Pew hears him and reveals that he is an old shipmate of Bones'. Pew orders Bones to come to him and hold out his hand. As he does so, Pew stuffs a piece of paper in Bones' hand and leaves promptly. When Bones unravels the paper, he is horrified to see a black circle on it: the Black Spot. Realizing that he is about to die, Bones reveals to Jim that a map is located inside his sea chest, and once again warns Jim to beware the one-legged man. Jim eventually finds the map, but Bones dies from apoplexy. Jim contacts Doctor David Livesey, accompanied by Squire John Trelawney, to look at the map. After careful investigating, Livesey reveals it is a map that used to belong to notorious pirate Captain John Flint. Realizing the potential, Livesey and Trelawney organize a mission to recover the £700,000 of treasure that Flint had buried on a remote island; Livesey will be the ship's doctor, the Squire will be the admiral, and Jim will be the cabin boy. By March, the crew begins the voyage to Skeleton Island - where the treasure is buried - on a first-rate schooner called the Hispaniola. The first room Jim explores is the galley: the ship's kitchen. While in the galley, he meets the chip's cook Long John Silver and his African Grey parrot Captain Flint. Jim notices Silver's peg leg, and remembers Billy Bones' warning about the seafaring man with one leg. During the voyage, he narrowly observes Silver's actions. On June 2, Jim sneaks into the galley to get a snack. As he tries to reach into the apple barrel, he falls in. Just then, Silver and the coxswain Israel Hands arrive and discuss when the best time to strike is. Silver, who is revealed to be a pirate, proclaims that he'll have the treasure map soon, and when does, then the crew can kill Livesey, the Squire, and Jim. As Hands reaches into the barrel to get an apple for Silver, Jim secretly gets an apple and gives it to him. Before Hands can question why there's a bite mark already in the apple, someone shouts out "Land ho!". Silver tells Hands to forget the apple, and instead get rum to celebrate. After they leave, Jim hops out of the barrel, pondering what to do. Realizing that safety will come in numbers, even at the cost of his life, Jim decides to go with the pirates on the island. Jim warns Livesey and the Squire about Silver's plans, and, in order to keep Jim safe, they tell him to stay in his cabin. The next day, on June 3, Jim secretly stows away on the pirates' longboat. Upon reaching the shore, he runs off into the forest and comes across an old man named Ben Gunn, who has been marooned on the island for 3 years. Ben - proclaiming himself to be the richest man alive - promises to make Jim a rich man, but is scared off by a pistol shot. As Jim wonders where Ben is running off to, he is surrounded by Silver and his crew, who had stolen the map; they take Jim as a hostage. En route, Silver asks Jim if he will join the pirate crew. Jim refuses, choosing rather to die. Hands almost draws out his sword, but Silver stops him, standing up for Jim because Jim might one day be able to save his life. A quarter of a mile from the burial spot, they come across a seaman's skeleton. Then they all hear an eerie sea shanty. Hands is spooked, believing it was the skeleton who sang it, and proposes they turn back, but Silver dismisses him and proceeds with the mission. Whe nthe pirate crew finally reach the burial spot, they find only 2 guineas out of the entire treasure. Thinking that Silver wants the treasure all for himself, Hands pulls out his sword to kill Silver, but the sword is shot away by the Squire, accompanied by Livesey and Ben. It is revealed that Ben stole the treasure, and had hidden it away. Everyone leaves the island with the treasure, and Silver is even granted a safe passage home in spite of his treacherous deeds. However, Silver steals a bag of money and escapes onto a South American port. Jim ends the story by saying the money mattered little to him, as he is satisfied that he has finally had his adventure. Characters * Jim Hawkins * Long John Silver * Billy Bones * Ben Gunn * Israel Hands * Blind Pew * Squire John Trelawney * Dr. David Livesey * Captain Flint the parrot Adaptation see Salty Dog Trivia * There are a few notable changes in the Wishbone version of this story: ** Captain Alexander Smollett is not featured or mentioned in this version. Instead, his role is replaced by Squire Trelawney. ** The pirate Black Dog is not featured or mentioned in this version. ** In this version, the Black Spot (a pirate's death sentence) seemingly kills Billy Bones. In the novel, he dies from a stroke. ** The Admiral Benbow Inn is not destroyed in this version. ** Jim does not kill anyone in this version. ** In the original novel, the money was equal to £750,000; in the Wishbone version, it was £700,000. *** £750,000 (novel) in 1761 equals out to £158,691,796.74 (or $195,743,950.90) in the present day. *** £700,000 (Wishbone) in 1761 equals out to £148,112,343.62 (or $182,694,354.17) in the present day. *** A silver fourpenny in 1761 equals out to £4.23 (or $5.22) in the present day. *** A guinea in 1761 equals out to £2.12 (or $2.96) in the present day. Back then, a guinea was equal to 21 shillings. Category:Books Category:Season 1 books Category:Books written by Robert Louis Stevenson